Die Hard 5 has a new lead

Jai Courtney will play John McClane's son

Die Hard 5 has announced some big news today, with Spartacus: Blood And Sand actor Jai Courtney confirmed as the new star of the upcoming action sequel.

Don’t worry though, Bruce Willis hasn’t been condemned to the scrapheap just yet – he’ll be back on board as maverick cop John McClane, while Courtney will play his son, Jack.

Courtney reportedly beat out The Hunger Games ’ Liam Hemsworth to play a character described by the official press release as, “an apple that has not fallen far from the tree.”

Indeed, the release goes on to claim that, “Jack may even be more of a hardass than his father.” You can see the pair together above, in an official image from the two actors’ screen-test together.

The film will see John and Jack relocated to Russia, with the McClane men looking to thwart some kind of global terrorist plot operating out of Moscow. Slightly glibly, the release describes out hero as a “true NYC fish out of water”. Hmmm.

Die Hard 5 will be directed by Max Payne ’s John Moore, and will open under the somewhat cringeworthy title A Good Day To Die Hard on 14 February 2013. A lovely romantic number for Valentine’s Day then…